Dr Mike Nevell: Head of Archaeology, Centre for Applied Archaeology, University of Salford

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Being Chair of any of the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists’ (CIfA) special interest groups is a privilege. In my time as Chair of their Buildings Archaeology Group (2011 to 2017) I’ve had the opportunity to meet and work with some great professionals, visit some intriguing buildings, and also try to contribute in a small way…

The news that three of the five museums closed by Lancashire County Council in 2016 are to partially re-open (announced on the 12th April 2018) is most welcome. The museums concerned are the Helmshore Mills, Queen Street Mill in Burnley, and the Judges’ Lodgings in Lancaster. As this is the European Year of Cultural…

Archaeological research takes time, especially the post-excavation process. Thus, for this final instalment in my survey of Salford’s early past I’m returning to one of the two Roman rural settlements known from within the city: Barton. For there is now fresh evidence which throws a light on life and death in Roman Salford. A cold,…

Sometimes the smallest objects can lead you down some unexpected research paths, where the provenance (archaeology-speak for location and context) is as important, if not more so, than the object itself. This is often very true of ancient hoards rich in precious metals. It’s the information they contain and their location that are the most…

At the beginning of this year I found myself, somewhat unexpectedly, in the role of Chair of my local archaeology society, the South Trafford Archaeological Group (STAG). One of the first things that had to be sorted was our fieldwork programme for 2018. As with any such society having a mixture of activities is important…

To mark the anniversary of 100 years since women were given the vote in Britain I thought I would look at one of my Industrial Revolution heroes – Hannah Lees (1764 1831). She was the owner of one of the earliest and largest iron works in the Manchester city region during the late 18th and…

Between 2011 and 2015 a three stage archaeology project, funded by the Peel Group, was undertaken at the Worsley New Hall site in Salford. This project explored the hall, its gardens and its grounds. The New Hall was built for Francis Egerton, the first Earl of Ellesmere (1800-1857) between 1840 and 1845. Ellesmere…

Maintaining law and order in industrialising Britain became a problem in the late 18th century, especially in the rapidly expanding industrial towns and cities. Prison reform was proposed by John Howard in 1777 in his landmark work The State of Prisons. He argued that prisoners could be reformed and morally improved through hard work,…

December 2017 marks a very personal milestone which has prompted some personal reflection on my part. On the 15th December 1987 I started my first full-time archaeological post as a supervisor for the Greater Manchester Archaeological Unit (GMAU). I’d had archaeological work before, as a paid digger and supervisor on a number of excavations whilst…

Thousands of workers’ houses were built to accommodate the city’s working population in the 19th century. The poor quality of those houses and their over-crowded conditions made Salford notorious for its slums. The types of housing that existed during this period included double-depth terraces, some of which had yards and outshuts to their…

The 18th and 19th centuries transformed Salford into an industrialised urban landscape. The old town had around 500 inhabitants in 1666. In 1717 it was estimated that this had grown to 2,500 inhabitants. By 1773 Salford had 4,765 people and in 1801 there were 13,611 people living in the town. Salford tripled in size…

This year’s Greater Manchester Archaeology Day is on the 25th November. There are still places available (booking here; Greater Manchester Archaeology Day 2017 booking site) or you can just turn up on the day. Registration is from 9.30am and the venue is the Peel Hall, Peel Building, University of Salford. We try to be…